Jazz Articles
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Patricia Brennan: Of the Near and Far
by Mike Jurkovic
Peerless, vibe-savvy vibraphonist Patricia Brennan minces no fools from the get go, launching Of The Near And Far with the kick-ass lead single (singles? They still make singles? In this day? In this age?) “Antilla." A new jazz standard by any stretch of the imagination, “Antilla" is a sleek, hypnotic beauty that gears you into the groove and holds you there. It is the first yin to the yang of Of The Near And Far. On the heels of ...
Continue ReadingPatricia Brennan: Of the Near and Far
by Troy Dostert
Not one to rest on her laurels, vibraphonist/marimbist Patricia Brennan has continued to challenge herself and her listeners with each stop in the studio. Her tireless dedication to her craft is undoubtedly one of the reasons for her meteoric rise in the creative jazz community, which could be charted particularly after 2021 when she released her propitious solo disc, Maquishti (Valley of Search) . Since then she has had barely a moment's pause, with More Touch (Pyroclastic) coming in 2022 ...
Continue ReadingCraig Taborn / Nels Cline / Marcus Gilmore: Trio Of Bloom
by Jack Kenny
The concept of a musical “supergroup" is hardly new. It could be argued that Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's assembly at Massey Hall in 1953 was an early example. This legendary bebop concert, despite the undeniable talent on stage, famously showcased clashing egos, particularly with a less-than-healthy Bud Powell. Charles Mingus even had to re-record his bass lines to ensure his contribution was heard in the final mix. Even earlier, Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven unequivocally ...
Continue ReadingCraig Taborn / Nels Cline / Marcus Gilmore: Trio Of Bloom
by Mike Jurkovic
Maelstroms come and maelstroms go, but the maelstrom generated by a pumped-up Marcus Gilmore on Ronald Shannon Jackson's “Nightwhistlers," the concussive kicker that jump-starts Trio of Bloom, holds its storm-warning, jazz-rocking, course. That guitarist Nels Cline--cranked by the spirit of Jimi Hendrix via Bill Frisell circa late '87; and keyboardist Craig Taborn (himself a modern acolyte of Horace Silver and John Cage) add their key signatures makes for a hell of an opener. One not soon forgotten. Taborn's ...
Continue ReadingNed Rothenberg: Looms & Legends
by Troy Dostert
Solo recordings, at least when they feature instruments other than piano or guitar, can be a challenge even for the most committed jazz listeners. The excitement generated by the dialogue of multiple instrumentalists is, of course, missing, and even the most talented artists can have trouble sustaining one's interest for an entire album. Such releases can be rather rewarding, however, when the musician in question has either astonishing technique or compelling emotional substance--or both, as is evident on multi-instrumentalist Ned ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier Mary Halvorson: Bone Bells
by Mike Jurkovic
Guitarist and sound-chaser Mary Halvorsonnever fails to hypnotize. Add the equally hypnotic pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and beauties like Bone Bells materialize to shift your news-exhausted consciousness to greater possibilities. Bone Bells does that. Bone Bells does it often. Once again each woman is determined to investigate every tangent of the sonic atmosphere. Willfully and excitedly breaks down the margins of contemporary chamber and avant-garde, Courvoisier (who gets along rather well with many musical mavericks, notably Wadada Leo Smith ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson: Bone Bells
by John Ephland
Tonally, these two artists offer what feels and sounds like an ideal fit. Pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson are in no hurry with , their third collaboration as a duo, the title coming from a passage in the novel Trust, by Herman Diaz. There is gentleness mixed with a kind of dreaminess, interspersed with what feel like spasms of either delight or some sudden fury of exposition that must find an outlet. And like all duo ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson: Bone Bells
by Jack Kenny
Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson! The combination of two such unconventional musicians is both rewarding, challenging and unnerving. The two women are radical disruptors. Their visions and their ambitions are vast. Their range of influences is dizzying. Their creativity seems limitless; their refusal to be conventional is absolute. Even the mechanics of their instruments are subject to their inventiveness. The extent of their comprehensive insurrection is not really acknowledged. Does their gender obscure it? In many ways, their ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson: Bone Bells
by Troy Dostert
Given that Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson are two of the most distinctive instrumentalists in the world of jazz and improvised music, it is a particular treat to hear them together in a duo configuration, where the intimacy of the setting allows for a fuller appreciation of their virtuosity and empathetic sensibilities than is sometimes possible on their more ambitious group projects. Courvoisier's pianistic prowess can be astonishing, but on recordings like 2023's Chimaera (Intakt Records) it was her arranging ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson: Bone Bells
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson are the boldest of musical artists. Bold and uncompromising, each with distinctive voices coming from different places. For Courvoisier, it is the classical music world and European chamber music that she mixes with the sounds of avant-garde jazz. Halvorson started out early with the violin, until the sound of the guitar of Jimi Hendrix pulled her into the freer and more hard rock realm. This move picked up momentum when she sat in ...
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